Monday, October 22, 2012

Laura Mercier Illuminating Eye Colour from the Art Deco Muse Look

Laura Mercier's Art Deco Muse Look is advertised as gilded, glamorous, and striking. If the Illuminating Eye Colours are an indication of the rest of the collection, I agree wholeheartedly.

Laura Mercier's Holiday Collection was inspired by the decorative architecture, style, and mood of the Art Deco period in Paris in the mid-1920s. Laura created rich makeup shades of gold, red, and black to beautifully contrast each other. All items in the collection are limited editions.

Sharply designed and defined eyes are lined in black with gilded, shimmering eye colors as a beautiful golden background. Lips wear super-shiny red lacquer, boldly applied for a stunning statement. The face is contoured and sculpted as a work of art.

The Illuminating Eye Colours ($24) from the collection are exquisite. These four eye shadows (yes, I purchased them all) offer a multi-dimensional, luminous pearl finish with a soft, bouncy texture for excellent colour pay-off and a smooth, even application. These shiny shades apply evenly with no fallout, not always the case for shimmering stunners.

In my photo above, the shades from left to right are Gilded Bronze, Gilded Moonlight, Gilded Rosegold, and Gilded Platinum. Could you choose only one, knowing they are limited editions?

I swatched each shade in the same order as shown above, applying them with a sponge-tipped applicator. I took my photos last week in full sun. I love each and every shade, even though Gilded Bronze and Gilded Rosegold really surprised me.

Gilded Bronze is shown at the top of my arm. Isn't it a glorious grey? While the grey has a tiny touch of bronze that I can see in person, bronze it isn't. The antique gold Gilded Moonlight is a perfect gold that will hold its own with other glamorous shades for the holidays.

Look at the orange-copper of Gilded Rosegold. It's not rose gold, but still stunning - a must have. Gilded Rosegold is unlike any rose gold shadow I own. It defied my expectations when I applied it. The appearance in the compact didn't prepare me for the color on my skin. Sill, I love it. The Gilded Platinum at the bottom of my arm is unique and eye catching. If I had been limited to only one of these four shades, I think Gilded Platinum would have been my choice.

I purchased all of my Illuminating Eye Colours from Laura Mercier's Web site. Although I haven't looked, I suspect you can find them at all Laura Mercier counters. Which one will you choose? You need at least one of these amazing eye shadows. They apply like a dream, and they will light up your look for the holidays.

Photos at top courtesy of Laura Mercier; other photos by Best Things in Beauty

15 comments:

Suselew said...

So all of them are at Sephora but not the Gilded Rose Gold. I have hazel eyes, leaning towards brown hues. Which color would you think would best enhance them? I like them to look more green than brown.

Charlestongirl said...

Suselaw! That's a tough one because I don't know your complexion. However, I love Gilded Platinum and think it would work nicely for you. Of course, the Rosegold would too. Or Moonlight...

Eileen said...

I love your response Charlestongirl: Gilded Platinum, or Rosegold, or Moonlight, or . . . LOL. It's obvious that you really like this collection :-) They are beautiful and LM did a good job of actually incorporating an Art Deco color scheme into the selection. Sometimes a line will site something as an inspiration but then pull colors together that are anything but.

Hi Suselaw,

Charlestongirl raised a good point about needing to compliment your skintone as well as eye color, but in general, opposites on the color wheel cause colors to pop. The opposite of green is red, so if you want to play up green tones in your hazel eyes, look for shadows that have red undertones like copper and rose gold. Another metallic combination that is beautiful on hazel eyes is a rich, warm gold on the lid with a deep green smudged along the lashes.

By the way, I know this is not related to your question about metallics, but if you like color, a deep warm teal usually looks awesome on hazel eyes and will bring out the green. LM's pencil in Black Turquoise is just such a color.

Mamavalveeta03 said...

@Suzelew: I'd try the Bronze with hazel eyes that lean toward brown (I also have hazel eyes and that one jumps out at me). That being said, I don't think you'd go wrong with any of them, just like CG says. Golds can be gorgeous with hazel eyes.

Mamavalveeta03 said...

And just for a second, I was transported back to the 80's and thought the model looked like Jerry Hall! These are beautiful!!!

Charlestongirl said...

Hi Mamaval,

I would have mentioned the bronze, it it's not bronze! It's grey.

Charlestongirl said...

Thanks, Eileen. You always have my back when I'm at work. Great advice!

Tatiana said...

Those are stunning colors. So tempted! The only one I would pass on is the rose gold. Colors with that much pink/red in them don't really work for me.

Charlestongirl said...

Hi Tatiana,

Red colors don't work for me either, but I've learned that these coppers really bring out the blue/green in my eyes.

TheDiversePhD said...

These shadows are gorgeous :)

Charlestongirl said...

Hi Sherri,

I think so too. :)

Moxiereviews said...

These are gorgeous. Just love your swatches. If I try to limit myself to just one--Gilded Moonlight is my favorite. I'll have to check these out in person. Planning on going to Sephora this week anyway! x

Mamavalveeta03 said...

You're so right about the bronze. I went on LM's website and it's not bronze at all. I don't think Suselew would go wrong using any of these: They're a hazel-eyed girl's dream colors!

Suselew said...

Hey, everyone! I went to Sephora yesterday and picked up the Bronze. That was the one I thought I would be least inclined to get but it really is a unique color. It's not a standard gray and certainly not what I would call bronze but definitely beautiful. I used it together with my new Giorgio Armani ETK #28 and it's striking. Unfortunately, it didn't accent my hazel eyes as much as I wanted, but it's still a keeper. I really want the Gilded RoseGold but since it's not on Sephora, I will order it from either LM or Nordstroms. LM has a cream shadow in RG already (in a tube) that is amazing, but I hope this is more copper than rose. It appears that way, CG in your swatches. Now that color should really turn my eyes green!

Red Lips, Black Hair said...

Beautiful swatches!